


i don't want anyone else, i just want you

by totallyunrelated



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, but katara only has eyes for aang sorry everyone, katara is insanely beautiful and everyone likes her, katara is popular
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totallyunrelated/pseuds/totallyunrelated
Summary: 5 times Katara rejected someone, and one time she finally accepted.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Haru/Katara (Avatar), Jet/Katara (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	i don't want anyone else, i just want you

  1. Jet



For all intents and purposes, Jet was Katara’s first real crush. 

Later, she would think back and realise that it had always been Aang, there had never really been anyone else, not seriously, for her, but at the time she was fourteen and he was twelve and he was like an annoying little brother to her. She had only really begun to realise the true depth of her feelings for him when she’d almost lost him to Azula’s lightning.

But back to Jet. He was handsome, older than her, and had just rescued her and her friends from a band of Fire Nation soldiers. What’s _not_ to like? She blushed more than she ever had around him, looked at him like he hung the moon up in the sky. She fantasized about what kissing him would feel like. At one point, she even wondered what it would be like to stay with him and the Freedom Fighters, but she knew it was impossible. Aang needed her help. She couldn’t just abandon him, no matter how much she liked Jet.

For his part, he seemed receptive to her, patiently answering all of her questions, complimenting her on her waterbending skills. She didn’t understand why Sokka didn’t like him, and came to the conclusion that it must be jealousy. She brushed his suspicions off, blinded by her feelings.

He even asked her to stay. He told her that she would be a valuable addition to their group. She felt guilty when she told him no with reluctance.

And then he’d revealed himself to be a cold-hearted psychopath and left a scar in her heart. It hadn’t broken her heart, she wasn’t in _love_ with him or anything, but she’d been hurt by how misplaced her trust in him had been. She vowed to be more careful the next time.

.

.

.

  1. Haru



Guilt started eating Katara alive when she heard the news that Haru had been taken. It was her fault. _She_ had been the one to encourage him. _She_ had told him it would be okay. But now the very person he’d saved had turned on him, and it was all her fault. Why couldn’t she have listened to his mother and left him alone? Now their already broken family had been torn apart once more.

She felt responsible for Haru’s fate, so she determined to set things right. She would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least try to help him. Aang and Sokka didn’t understand, but once she proved that she wasn’t going to change her mind, they supported her, though they still didn’t agree with her taking that risk. 

She had never anticipated that some people might not _want_ to be free. 

In the faces of the defeated earthbenders she saw her own tribe, and for the first time wondered where the lost waterbenders were. She was the only one left in the South, but she knew that there had been others before, others who had been targeted by Fire Nation raids and carted away on ships like this one. Everyone in the tribe had assumed that they were dead, but if the Fire Nation had kept earthbender prisoners like this, why not waterbenders? Had they accepted their fate like these earthbenders had? Were they even still out there somewhere?

She _couldn’t_ give up on them. But it seemed like there was nothing she could do. Even the appearance of coal in front of them did nothing; one by one they slowly turned away, ignoring their last chance of freedom. How did you free people who didn’t even want to be free?

She didn’t even struggle against the guards who came to restrain her, overcome by despair.

But then Haru came to her aid, and something about seeing him stand up for her seemed to break the others out of their depression. Miraculously, the tide began to turn. They were _winning._ The earthbenders were finally fighting back, the years and years of abuse and torment finally catching up. She almost cried in happiness. Finally - _finally_ \- she had been able to make a difference. _She_ had done this.

When it was over and all the Fire Nation guards had been subdued, Haru and his father came up to her and thanked her. Embarrassed, she told them that they didn’t have to thank her - they gained their freedom by themselves. But they insisted, stating that she had inspired them. Their words made her glow a little.

Haru said, “You could come with us, Katara. You’d be more than welcome.”

She looked up at him, surprised; the thought had never even crossed her mind. Now, more than ever, she knew that the path she was on was the right one. She was meant to help Aang fulfill his destiny and bring peace back to the world. He looked at her with hope in his eyes, hope that she was reluctant to crush. But she had to.

She told him no, as gently as she could, and felt a pang as his face fell. He told her he understood and wished her luck. She watched from Appa’s back as their boat dwindled into a black dot in the middle of the vast blue ocean.

.

.

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  1. Lee



Ba Sing Se really was a beautiful city, but knowing the truth about the last stronghold in the Earth Kingdom made it difficult for Katara to truly appreciate its beauty. Appa still had not been found, and they were beginning to doubt if he was even in the city - as big as Ba Sing Se was, bigger than any city than Katara had ever seen, there were not many places to hide a gigantic bison with six feet. But the solar eclipse was approaching and they were running out of time. Soon they would lose their only chance to gain the upper hand on the Fire Nation; if they missed it, if they failed to gain support from the Earth Kingdom army, the war would be lost. It wouldn’t matter, then, whether or not they found Appa - they’d all be doomed anyway.

But they were all still children, and not being on the run for once made all of them just a little complacent. In those short-lived days of peace, she started to wonder what her life would have been like if there was no war. In Ba Sing Se, everything seemed so normal, so calm, and though they all knew the horrible truth of the war raging outside, somehow it seemed as if it would never make its way into the bubble of Ba Sing Se. She supposed that that was part of the danger of the city. It made one forget just how bad things were. If they stayed long enough, they would probably even forget all about the horrors they’d witnessed, believing them all a bad dream.

There was also the fact that the food here was really, really good. And there was _so much_ of it. Back in the South Pole, it had been important to conserve what little food they had. Since all the men had left to fight in the war, hunting had become more dangerous, though the women had quickly learned what they needed in order to survive. Still, they did not want to risk it, only going out when necessary and only hunting animals like seals and foxes, which were less dangerous than the polar bear-dogs that the men used to hunt once in a while. And after she had left her home, food had become even more scarce; they rarely ventured into towns and villages, afraid that someone would recognise them and set the Fire Nation on their tail. There was also the matter of money, of which they had very little. Meals mostly consisted of whatever Sokka had managed to capture in the woods and some berries or leaves that Aang picked along the way. So Ba Sing Se was a novelty. They all shovelled food in their mouths like they had been starving for days, which was _technically_ kind of true. Logically, she knew that they were only being treated so well because they were on the cusp of figuring something out, something big that whoever ran Ba Sing Se didn’t want anyone to know about, but right now she couldn’t bring herself to care. And neither could the others. Getting answers could wait.

She was too busy with her food to notice someone walking up to her, until they cleared their throat behind her. She jumped, almost inhaling a stir-fried noodle in surprise.

There was a boy standing behind her, dressed in traditional Earth Kingdom clothes. She scanned his face, wondering why he was there. He wasn’t anyone she knew. Maybe someone Toph knew? But his eyes were fixed on her, seemingly uninterested in her companions. She smiled uncertainly at him.

“Hello. My name is Lee,” said the boy, before she could say anything. “You’re the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

By this time, everyone at the table was staring at him, slack-jawed. Sokka’s eyebrow was twitching, overprotective older brother instincts kicking in. Toph just looked bored. And Aang was glaring a hole into the side of the boy’s head, jealousy written all over his face. Katara, for her part, was too shocked to say anything. She was unused to compliments like this; back at home she and Sokka were the only ones their age, and though Aang always told her she looked pretty, it wasn’t as out of the blue as _this_ was.

“Uh, thank you…?” she ventured, somehow making it sound like a question. She winced. The boy seemed unfazed by her lackluster reaction. If anything, he seemed to gain even more confidence.

“Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

Katara gaped, shocked speechless. She didn’t even _know_ this guy! Was this really something that people just did? She couldn’t quite believe that this was actually happening. She fumbled for a response, not wanting to be rude but also wanting to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

But Sokka beat her to the punch. “ _No,_ she would not!” he yelled. “Now scram!”

The boy - _Lee_ \- shot her brother an annoyed look. “And who are you? Her boyfriend?” he asked lazily.

Sokka got even redder, if that was even possible. “Her brother!”

Katara felt a familiar surge of anger rising up in her. She _hated_ it when her brother spoke for her like this, as if he could make decisions for her. For a moment, she had an irrational urge to tell Lee yes, just to be contrary, but no matter what Sokka did she didn’t want to go on a date with a boy she didn’t even know.

“I’m not interested,” she told him as calmly as possible. “But thank you.”

When he was gone she whirled around angrily, poking an accusing finger into Sokka’s chest. “I had it handled, you know. I can make my own decisions about who to date.”

“Yeah, but I’m your brother! It’s my job to protect you from jerks like that!”

“I can protect myself!”

.

.

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  1. Sakura



After Aang’s near-execution, Team Avatar collectively decided to pay a visit to Kyoshi Island, wanting to take a break and relax for once. The festivities for Avatar Day were in full swing by the time they arrived. Everything was decked out in green and gold and yellow, and everyone in the town had outfitted themselves in Kyoshi Warrior regalia. It looked like there were ten times more Kyoshi Warriors than she was used to seeing.

She turned to comment as much to Aang, only to be startled. His eyes were no longer their usual grey, they were a striking green that speaks of Earth Kingdom ancestry. _Kyoshi’s_ eyes. She blinked, and they were grey again.

They were ambushed by eager townsfolk as soon as they landed, all clamoring to see the Avatar. Aang handled it with remarkable grace, which Katara admired - she was sure she’d snap within the first fifteen seconds. Having grown up in the desolate tundra, she was unused to large crowds of people, often felt like she was being suffocated whenever too many people were around. It was for that reason that she slipped away while the people were preoccupied with Aang, trusting that he would understand her need to get away.

She slipped between two houses, taking advantage of the relative quiet to catch her breath. Here, the sounds of the festival were muffled, though certainly still audible. She caught sight of the villagers dancing in the town square, around Avatar Kyoshi’s statue, and she made an impromptu decision to go join them. It was easy to slip in among the horde of people, even easier to lose herself in the music and the captivating thrill of dancing. 

Someone slipped in beside her, and she looked over in curiosity. It was a girl around her age, dressed in Kyoshi Warrior garb like everyone else, face painted and golden fans in her hands. 

“Katara, right? The waterbender?” She had to yell over the music to be heard. Katara nodded, interest piqued. She felt a small flicker of pride that these people actually knew her name, and didn’t just address her as _that Water Tribe girl who travels with the Avatar._

The girl grinned. “I’m Sakura! Your dancing is amazing!”

“Thank you! You’re great too!” Katara shouted back. Following the people around her, she linked hands with Sakura and spun. 

“You’re really pretty!” Was that a flirtatious note in her voice? “Got any plans for tonight?” Though Katara was no expert in matters like these, she had a feeling that this girl was definitely hitting on her. It surprised her a little; she was aware that relationships like this existed in her tribe, but they weren’t exactly publicised. Apparently it was different here, though she supposed she should have expected it, given the things she had heard about Avatar Kyoshi. It was flattering, even if it caught her off guard. She didn’t know how to respond.

“No, but, um...I…” Katara stuttered, unable to find words. Luckily, Sakura seemed to understand.

“Friends?” she offered, mercifully cutting Katara off before she could say anything potentially embarrassing or offensive. Katara smiled gratefully.

“I’d like that.”

She was mortified to learn that her friends had witnessed the whole thing. Sokka cried dramatically, “Now I’ll have to fend _double_ the number of people off! Thanks a lot, Katara! Why do you insist on making my life so hard?”

.

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  1. Zuko



Every time Katara looked at Zuko’s scar, she felt a fresh wave of guilt.

Though Zuko had reassured her multiple times that it wasn’t her fault, it was entirely Azula’s, she couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling that it had been her fault that he’d gotten hurt and nearly died. If she’d just been a few minutes late, he would have died. All because she’d been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. _Why_ had she even thought it would be a good idea to enter the Agni Kai arena? Clearly Zuko could handle himself. He was even _winning._ If not for her, he could have easily defeated his sister. But because she’d butted in when she shouldn’t have, now he was hurt. Badly. Even after extensive healing sessions multiple times a day, she could already tell that his heart would forever be damaged, weakened. She dearly hoped that she hadn’t cost him a few years of his life.

“Katara,” Zuko said again, like he could tell what she was thinking. It probably wasn’t hard. Katara had never learned the art of hiding her emotions behind a stoic mask, like Zuko had had to do from a very young age. “Please don’t blame yourself. I could never live with myself if you’d gotten hurt in my fight.”

“But that’s just it!” cried Katara, frustrated. She made a visible effort to calm herself down, and continued in a softer tone. “I shouldn’t even have been standing there in the first place. If I had been out of the way, _like I should have been,_ you would have been completely fine. You would have won.”

She focused harder on the water in her hands, ignoring the burning in her eyes, as if sheer willpower alone could heal him. She heard Zuko sigh.

“I don’t blame you. I know you were on edge, and you just wanted to help. Besides, I’m fine now! Azula is defeated. _You_ defeated her. Everything worked out.”

“You could have died,” Katara insisted.

“Look at me, Katara.” She did, albeit reluctantly, unshed tears making her vision blurry. He reached out, as if wanting to wipe them off her cheeks, but dropped his hand before he could do so. “I’m here. I’m alive. And it’s all thanks to you.” He looked her straight in the eye, unwavering. “Let’s not focus on the what-ifs. You made your choice, I made my choice, it’s all in the past. Everything worked out in the end.”

Katara huffed, but didn’t argue. She still felt guilty for his injury, but he was right - she couldn’t change the fact that it had happened. And it would do no good to beat herself up about it now that the war was finally over, and he was alive.

“So,” he said, attempting to change the topic. “What do you plan to do now that the war is over?”

“I’m going to go home, to the South Pole,” she said. But as she said it, doubt slithered into her mind. For so long she’d believed that once everything was over, she and Sokka could go home and rebuild. But now...was that really what she wanted? Yes, she wanted to at least visit, see Gran Gran, spend more time with her dad, but did she want to _stay_ there? She didn’t know the answer to that, and it frustrated her. Zuko seemed to pick up on her thoughts.

“And after that?” he asked tentatively.

She hesitated. The question lingered, but she didn’t have an answer. Finally, she said quietly, “I don’t know. I guess I never really let myself think about it in too much detail...I was too focused on surviving, on actually achieving the impossible and winning the war. There was never time to think about _after.”_

He nodded thoughtfully, not pushing. For a second, she was almost envious - he knew exactly what he wanted to do. She pushed the thought away as soon as it formed. Zuko might have a path laid out in front of him, but it was in no way going to be an easy one. He was the only eligible candidate for Fire Lord, and though she was sure he would be a good one, the burden it placed on him was a heavy one. Perhaps it wasn’t even a burden that he wanted, though he would have to accept it no matter what. 

They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, her concentrating on her healing, him presumably getting some rest. Then, suddenly, he spoke up. “If you wanted to...you could stay.”

She looked over at him in surprise, hands stilling momentarily. She almost wanted to laugh at the absurd notion - _stay?_ Here, in the Fire Nation, where everyone hated her? - but she stopped herself at the look on his face. His expression was open, vulnerable - hopeful, in a way she had never seen it before. She thought about the long, lonely road ahead of him. It made sense that he would want to have a friend by his side.

She stayed silent, unable to find the words. He pressed on, voice tinged with desperation. “You’d be a great help - you’re smart, levelheaded, good at making decisions. We’re going to need voices from all four nations if we’re going to make this work, so you could represent your tribe…”

“Zuko,” she said quietly. There was a quiet longing in his voice, something that went beyond the desire to have a friend close. She didn’t want to admit it, but it scared her. She had a sudden feeling that there was more to his request than he was saying. What would it mean, to accept? She wanted to be there for him, wanted to be his friend - but she wasn’t sure she could be anything more than that. Not to him. She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, but...you know I can’t.”

He turned his face away, a shadow falling over his expression. She almost wanted to take it back, but knew this was for the best. Better to shut it down before misunderstandings arose. 

“I know,” he whispered.

.

.

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+1. Aang

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara noticed Aang quietly detaching himself from the rest of the group and vanishing out into the balcony. Looking around, she made sure everyone else was preoccupied, then slipped away, going after him. He’d been unusually quiet all day, and she was worried about him. After the defeat of Ozai his entire demeanor had seemed to change. No longer was he a naive, clueless boy. He seemed to bear an air of maturity and wisdom beyond his years. If she was being entirely honest, that change in him was what had finally pushed her to accept her feelings for him.

She’d known that what she felt for him was different than what she felt for Sokka, or for Toph, ever since she’d brought him back from the brink of death after getting hit by Azula’s lightning. Back then, she’d adamantly refused to examine those feelings too closely, telling herself that it didn’t matter because they were in the middle of a war and there were much more important things for her to focus on. That was entirely true, but there was another, more prominent reason why she refused to accept it: she was scared. Scared about what it might mean for them, scared about what it might mean for _her._ She was only fourteen. He was twelve. Dumb as it might be, she had feared that if they got into a relationship she’d have to take care of him, and though arguably that was what she’d been doing all along - Sokka and Toph didn’t jokingly call her ‘mom’ for no reason - it was...different, with him. She wanted a relationship where they could be equals, where she didn’t have to constantly care for another person. The role of nurturer had been thrust upon her at a very young age, after her mother’s death, and though it had become part of her personality at this point, she still, sometimes, needed someone to care for _her._ She had been telling the truth when she said she was confused - she hadn’t known what she wanted at the time, had felt that she couldn’t possibly figure out what that was in the middle of a war. She had feared that they were too young, too immature to start anything, had been certain that it would change what they already had irrevocably.

But now she’d had time to think about it, and she wasn’t confused anymore. She was more certain than ever that this was what she wanted, especially after these past few weeks; she had thought for sure that Aang would try to corner her now that the war was over, get a straight answer out of her, but he hadn’t done anything of the sort. Instead he had allowed her space, let her figure things out on her own, and that had cemented her resolve. It showed how much he had grown. She had come to the conclusion that she liked Aang, maybe even loved him, and she knew if she didn’t at least try to make it work she would regret it for the rest of her life. 

She stepped quietly onto the balcony, trying not to make any noise, but he turned immediately, as if sensing her presence. No words were needed. She made her way over to him and folded her arms around him in a hug, which he returned. When they separated, she could tell that something had shifted. There was tension in the air, but he made no move to breach the gap, instead looking into her eyes, patiently waiting. That did it for her; she closed the gap between their lips and kissed him soundly.

When they parted, she kept her arms around him, gazing down at him in adoration. Soon enough he would be taller than her, but for now he rested his head against her shoulder and they turned together to gaze out at the city.

“What do you want to do now?” he asked softly, breaking the silence.

“I’m going home. To the South Pole.”

He hummed. “What would you say if I asked if I could go with you?”

She stared at him, surprised. She had assumed that he would need to fulfill his Avatar duties, travelling around the world, bringing peace. None of them were stupid enough to assume that the end of the war would bring immediate peace and harmony. There was still a long way to go.

“I...I’d love that. But don’t you have to, you know, do your Avatar thing?”

His face fell, just a little, but then it brightened again. “That’s something I wanted to ask you about, actually,” he said, turning to face her. “I wanted to ask you if you’d ever consider coming with me.”

Speechless, she stared at him, though she knew in her heart what her answer would be. He looked nervously back at her, hope shining in his eyes. “I mean, I know you want to go home, and I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to stay there, but I just thought - it would be nice, and -”

“Yes,” she breathed, cutting him off. “I’d love to.”


End file.
